BJP MLA’s comment on Sania Mirza’s Indian identity is reprehensible

Whether or not she is the right person to be a brand ambassador for Telangana is a separate debate, but the fact that she has married a Pakistani is irrelevant to that debate. The comments by a BJP leader questioning her nationality could have been dismissed as just another politician shooting his mouth off, but the party and the prime minister need to take it more seriously. They must realize that there are far too many such comments from within their fold and from the larger fraternity of the Sangh Parivar that smack of a communal mindset.

A Goa minister’s remarking that he is confident Narendra Modi would turn India into a Hindu nation is another such comment.

The Prime Minister needs to come out strongly against such comments in order to reassure the minorities that their apprehensions about the intent of his regime are misplaced and to signal to these elements that it is not open season for minority-baiting. Silence on his part will only encourage such elements.